


Nectar of the Gods

by Styx_in_the_mud



Series: Muggleborn Culture: A Ficlet Anthology [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coffee Shops, Gen, House unity, Interhouse Friendships, Starbucks, muggleborn pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 08:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3282926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Styx_in_the_mud/pseuds/Styx_in_the_mud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all starts with a Starbucks coffee machine and two cups of coffee</p><p>Inspired by jadeisqueenofwinter's submission to the mugglebornheadcanon blog</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nectar of the Gods

**Author's Note:**

> Original Headcanon can be found [here](http://mugglebornheadcanon.tumblr.com/post/99977061653/956-a-muggleborn-gets-a-starbucks-coffee-machine)

 

O.W.L year was going to be the hardest, Tara just knew it. She was sure that even N.E,W.Ts wouldn't be this hard, because at least then she wouldn't have to take Transfiguration. She groaned at the thought of her least favorite subject as she threw a pile of clothes into her trunk (she'd no doubt get a lecture from her mother about packing things properly, but she could live with that) and reached for her text books, knocking over an empty coffee mug in the process.

 

Ah yes, coffee, the nectar of the gods. She had become a bit of a coffee addict over the holidays. It was habit enabled by a well-meaning aunt, who, when she found out that it was time for Tara's boards, went out and got her a Starbucks Coffee machine, with all the coffee flavors she could find " _to help during your exams, dear_ ". As much as she loved magic, growing up in the muggle world gave Tara a certain appreciation for things like a machine that made a perfect caramel macchiato at the push of a button, no effort required. Tara sighed, wishing she could carry it with her, she didn't think Hogwarts served fancy coffee. Then she paused. Maybe she could take it with her, there was certainly no rule against it. It might take a little tinkering to make it work within the castle, but she wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, if she put her mind to it, she'd get it done. And she'd probably need it throughout the year, if she wanted to stay awake through late nights of studying in the chilly Slytherin dorms. Her mind made up, Tara made her way to the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

 

Her machine made a satisfying hissing sound as it deposited a peppermint latte into her cup. It had taken the half the month, but Tara (along with a Ravenclaw who she'd bribed with free coffee) had managed to get the machine to work inside the castle, and she had been hiding the machine in her dorm ever since. Tara took a sip of the warm drink and sighed. Someone cleared their behind her, and she jumped. She spun around to face one of her dormmates. She cursed silently, she had been so good about keeping this a secret.

 

"Oh, er, hi Claire"

 

Claire ignored her, in favor of staring at the machine.

 

"Is that what I think it is?"

"What do you think it is?"

"One of those Starbucks machine things."

 

Tara tried to hide her look of surprise, but apparently didn't succeed because Claire raised a sardonic eyebrow.

 

"I'm a halfblood, remember?"

Tara flushed and said "I knew that!"

"Listen, can I have a cup?"

"Um..."

"I'll pay"

"How much?"

"10 Knuts"

"You're mad! This is Starbucks stuff, and in limited supply! At least 20!"

"Okay, how about this, 15 per cup, and I'll send out for new stock whenever you start to run low. We can call it a supplier's discount."

 

Tara thought it over, and held out her hand, palm up "Deal"

Claire reached into her robes pocket and deposited fifteen bronze coins into her dormmate's upturned palm. She walked out with a Mocha in her hands.

 

* * *

 

It became a regular thing, Claire would pay Tara 15 knuts every morning after the rest of the fifth year Slytherin girls had left the dorm and enjoy a latte or a cappucino. I return, Tara would place orders through her and she'd get whichever flavors the other girl needed from her muggle cousin. One day, Claire handed Tara a sickle and a knut.

 

"I need a cup for my friend, he was up all night working on that potions essay."

"He could just get it himself"

"He's a Hufflepuff... besides, how would he get into the girls dorm anyway?"

"Fair enough, here you go, one for you, one for your Hufflepuff friend."

 

* * *

 

It snowballed within a month. Soon all of the Hufflepuffs knew that Tara had access to the best coffee in the castle, and from there the news spread to the Ravenclaws, and then the Gryffindors, and finally it circled back around to the Slytherins. They had even formed a core group of sorts, three Slytheins, two Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, all of whom were tasked with making sure coffee got to everyone who needed. But their operation was getting too big. Tara was filling cup after cup of hot beverages and placing wholesale orders for new flavors. The other Slytherins acted as a delivery system to their friends in other houses. By November, it was running everyone ragged, and Tara wasn't sure how she could keep up with business and exam preparations at the same time. Something had to be done. It was time to meet with the other members of her little group.

"I bet you're all wondering why I asked you to meet me here" said Tara to the motley group of students surrounding her. There was a chorus of agreement.

"I've come to a decision about the coffee thing. I think we need to expand, create something like a real coffee shop, with food and studying space and soft music."

There was silence before-

"You're mad!"

"The teachers will never let us!"

"We don't have nearly enough equipment!"

"What's wrong with the system we have now?"

  Claire interrupted the babble with a loud whistle. "Shut up and let her speak!"

Tara nodded her thanks and said "Listen, we can do this, the teachers don't have to know, We can always raise the funds for new equipment, and the system we have now is tiring everyone out. If we keep going the way we are, we'll have to choose between the business and passing our exams. This way will be so much better, we can designate shifts around class schedules and study times, and it will be so much easier to get the goods to members of other houses."

She looked around her, and saw that the others were warming to the idea "Lynn!" she said, making the Gryffindor girl jump "You're an excellent baker, if you had access to the Kitchens, would you be able to provide food?"

The other girl nodded "In fact, the house-elves might do it for you if you ask."

"Julius!" the Slytherin boy gave her a piercing look "Claire would still be in charge of supplies, but you've got a pretty good business sense, you could take over that part of the operation." He nodded thoughtfully.

"Ryan and Stephanie know the entire school between the two of them" she continued, gesturing at the Hufflepuff twins "They'd have no problem advertising, without letting the teachers in on the secret."

"And Alex," she said turning to the quiet Ravenclaw boy "wouldn't it be just the right atmosphere to organize study groups and tutoring sessions?"

He grinned in response.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, I'm in" said Claire, "All in favor, say Aye"

 The vote was unanimous.

 

* * *

 

Tara thought finding a place that all houses could access without the teachers knowing about it was going to be difficult. It was not.

"Lynn this is perfect!" she squealed looking around the room "Where did you find it? I didn't think there was a room like this in the castle!"

 It was a spacious mood lighting and Jazzy music, a gleaming counter, with glass cases perfect for displaying food. There were even tables and chairs, along with a few beanbags scattered around the room.

"There isn't" said the other girl "My dad used to tell me story about a room on the seventh floor that only appeared when you really needed it, and it would equip itself with whatever you need. I thought I'd give it a try, and it worked. Watch!" She closed her eyes and screwed up her face in concentration before a three shiny coffee machines appeared on the counter, seemingly from nowhere! "This way we won't even need to buy new equipment! And I think if we ask it to, the room won't let any of the teachers in either!"

"That's brilliant! Let's tell the others!" said Tara pulling her friend out of the room.

 

* * *

 

It was nearing May, and business was booming. They had branched out quite a bit, offering a variety of baked goods in addition to specialty flavors year round. The began to experiment with adding charmed drinks as an option, lattes laced with serenity charms for stressed patients and hot chocolate with a bit of a cheering charm mixed in for patrons having a bad day, things like that. They seemed to be quite popular, and since they were quite light charms, they didn't last very long, just long enough to take the edge off. They had decided to price them slightly higher and limit their purchase anyway though, after both Alex and Ryan had started to lecture them about magical addictions.

 

 Tara and her friends barely worked shifts anymore, what with exams being so near. The group had collectively decided that since they couldn't very well close the shop (exam time was when coffee demand was highest), they'd get some third and fourth years to cover a majority of the shifts, maybe then they could keep the shop going even after they graduated. Tara had grinned at the thought. Today she had decided to take a shift, and she looked around the room contentedly. It was filled with students from all the houses, eating, drinking and working. O.W.L and N.E.W.T students came in so often that the room had created three offshoots, a study room, a room for spell practice, and a workroom for potions practice. There were even organized study groups for the various years once a week. Her eyes rested on a small door, off to the side, which lead directly to the kitchens. It had been created when they had found out the room couldn't create readymade food for them. She gave the snacks on the counter a cursory glance, and decided that she didn't need to restock anything. A small chime came from the direction of the door, and Headmistress walked in. Tara stifled a snort as she remembered when they first realized that the room's interpretation of " _We need a place that the teachers can't enter_ " did not include Professor McGonagall.

 

* * *

 

 

_The chime of the door was still a fairly new addition, and every time it went of the "staff" (as they'd come to think of themselves) would turn to see who had entered. This time, they all froze, mouths open in horror as they took in the sight of **the headmistress** standing at the door. They stared. She stared back. The other patrons hadn't quite realized what was going on, and the Headmistress took in the entire sight. Her eyes slid from a pair of Ravenclaw third years were pouring over their ancient runes texts at one table, to a group of sixth year girls gossiping over steaming mugs of coffee, to a small cluster of first years in a corner practicing simple transfiguration, under the watchful eye of a pair of fourth year Hufflepuffs. _

_It was Alex, of all people, who snapped out of his trance first. And in a move which would later cause Lynn to dub him an honorary Gryffindor, he walked up to the headmistress, cool as you please, and said loudly "Good Evening Professor McGonagall, would you like something to drink?"_

_This caught everyone's attention, and silence reigned for a few tense minutes._

_"Very well, Mr. Williams, what do you recommend?"_

_"My personal favorite is the Vanilla latte. If you'll just follow me?" He led her through the silent room to the counter._

_That seemed to do it for the rest of the staff, who slipped into professional mode immediately, Stephanie turned towards the coffee machines, and Julius got the rest of the patrons to go back to their previous activities with a firm "That's enough staring you lot, don't you have something better to do?" and the coffee shop descended into comfortable chatter once more._

_Stephanie hand McGonagall her drink, and she took a final glance around the room “It’s nice” she said quietly “to see it being used in happy times”. Then she dropped a sickle on the counter and left, leaving the staff to exchange puzzled glances._

_They were only slightly surprised when the good Professor returned the next day to order a small gingerbread latte to go._

 

* * *

 

 

"Your usual Professor?" asked Tara with a smile

"If you would, Miss Langley."

 

She handed the Headmistress her gingerbread latte and blueberry muffin before wishing her a good evening. As she watched Professor McGonagall's retreating back, she had to grin. To think, this all started with two cups of coffee in the Slytherin dorms.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man I have quite a lot of feelings about this one, so if anyone wants to discuss is with me, [look me up](http://herrsassyfras.tumblr.com)
> 
> Reviews are not only welcome, but encouraged 
> 
> Also I have minimal understanding of wizarding economy when I set the prices. What I do know (thanks to Philosopher's Stone) is that it's 29 Knuts to a sickle, and that apparently sixteen Sickles per ounce of dragon liver is exorbitant, and Starbucks is generally over priced anyway, so that's my justification for my pricing.


End file.
